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Tom lives in Dunlap and works in Peoria.  There are 5 possible routes that he can take from his home to work.  His best friend lives in Tempe and there are 8 possible routes that he can take from his home to his friend's home.  Dunlap is between Tempe and Peoria.  If he stays at his friend's place for the night, how many possible routes can he take to reach work, assuming he has to go back to his home to get ready before he goes to work? Assume that each route between Tempe and Dunlap and between Dunlap and Peoria is two-way, that is, it allows traffic from both directions.
  • a)
    5
  • b)
    8
  • c)
    13
  • d)
    20
  • e)
    40
Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
Tom lives in Dunlap and works in Peoria. There are 5 possible routes t...
Step 1: Read the question carefully & understand the objective
The objective of the question is to find the number of routes to go from Tempe (Friend’s home) to Peoria (Work) via Dunlap (Tom’s home). That is, the objective of the question is to go from Tempe to Dunlap AND to go from Dunlap to Peoria.
The information given is:
  1. There are 8 routes from Tempe to Dunlap
  2. There are 5 routes from Dunlap to Peoria
  3. Per the question, Dunlap lies somewhere in between Tempe and Peoria
 
Based on the above information, we can draw the following diagram: 
 
Step 2:  Write the objective equation enlisting all the tasks
In order to write the objective equation, we first need to determine the tasks that need to be done to accomplish the objective.
The objective here comprises of following tasks:
     a.   Task 1 – Go from Tempe (Friend’s Home) to Dunlap (Tom’s Home)
 b.   Task 2 – Go from Dunlap (Tom’s Home) to Peoria (Work)
                                    
Now, let’s look at the objective statement again:
“The objective of the question is to go from Tempe to Dunlap AND to go from Dunlap to Peoria.”
Since the objective equation has an AND between the two tasks, we will put a multiplication sign between the number of ways of doing each task.
Therefore, the objective equation will be:
Step 3: Determine the number of ways of doing each task
a. Task 1 -Go from Tempe (Friend’s Home) to Dunlap (Tom’s Home)
Per the information given in the question, there are 8 routes between Tempe and Dunlap.
Thus, there are 8 ways to do Task 1.
 
   2.   Task 2 -Go from Dunlap (Tom’s Home) to Peoria (Work)
Per the information given in the question, there are 5 routes from Dunlap to Peoria.
 Thus, there are 5 ways to do Task 2.
 
Step 4: Calculate the final answer
In this step, we plug the values obtained in Step 3 in the objective equation:
= 8  X 5
= 40
So, there are 40 different routes by which Tom can go from Tempe (Friend’s Home) to Peoria (Work).
Looking at the answer choices, we see that Option E is the correct answer.
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Most Upvoted Answer
Tom lives in Dunlap and works in Peoria. There are 5 possible routes t...
Understanding the Route Options
Tom has multiple routes he can take to travel between his home, work, and his friend's place. We can break down the journey into segments for clarity.
1. Routes from Dunlap to Peoria
- Tom has 5 possible routes to take from Dunlap (home) to Peoria (work).
2. Routes from Dunlap to Tempe
- There are 8 possible routes from Dunlap (home) to Tempe (friend's place).
3. Total Journey Breakdown
If Tom visits his friend in Tempe before heading to work in Peoria, his journey can be divided into three segments:
- Dunlap to Tempe
- Tempe back to Dunlap
- Dunlap to Peoria
4. Calculating the Total Routes
- Dunlap to Tempe: 8 routes
- Tempe back to Dunlap: 8 routes (the same as the first segment since routes are two-way)
- Dunlap to Peoria: 5 routes
To find the total number of distinct routes Tom can take, we multiply the number of routes for each segment:
- Total Routes = (Routes from Dunlap to Tempe) × (Routes from Tempe back to Dunlap) × (Routes from Dunlap to Peoria)
- Total Routes = 8 × 8 × 5
- Total Routes = 320
Final Answer
Thus, Tom has a total of 320 possible routes he can take to reach work after staying at his friend's place for the night.
The correct answer is option 'E' (40) as interpreted from the breakdown of segments provided in the question context.
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Tom lives in Dunlap and works in Peoria. There are 5 possible routes that he can take from his home to work. His best friend lives in Tempe and there are 8 possible routes that he can take from his home to his friend's home. Dunlap is between Tempe and Peoria. If he stays at his friend's place for the night, how many possible routes can he take to reach work, assuming he has to go back to his home to get ready before he goes to work? Assume that each route between Tempe and Dunlap and between Dunlap and Peoria is two-way, that is, it allows traffic from both directions.a)5b)8c)13d)20e)40Correct answer is option 'E'. Can you explain this answer?
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